Apparatus and method for converting line segment data to three-dimensional data

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method in which an operator can input a three-dimensional (3D) graphics to a graphic system by performing an operation that is as if he were sketching on a paper surface. A line segment of two-dimensional (2D) data is input through an input device such as a mouse, and is then temporarily stored in a storage device as well as being displayed on a 2D display screen. The line segment of 2D data is converted to 3D data when it obtains information in the depth direction based on its relationship to another line segment that constitutes a 3D graphics and has 3D data already. 3D data of line segments that have that data in addition to 2D data are stored in a storage device, and are projected by a projection conversion circuit onto a 2D projection plane that has been set by a visual field input device, so as to be converted to 2D data, which are then displayed on the display screen. Therefore, the line segments that have already been converted to 3D data are displayed on the display screen together with the line segments that have been input through the input device and still have only 2D data. An operator can construct a 3D graphics constituted of 3D line segments simply by inputting 2D line segments as if he were sketching.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/067,772, filed May,26, 1993, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for convertingtwo-dimensional (2D) line segment data that is input through a 2D inputdevice such as a mouse or tablet to three-dimensional (3D) data tofacilitate the construction of a 3D wireframe graphics. The inventionfurther relates to an apparatus and method for displaying line segmentsof 2D data and line segments of 3D data in a mixed form on a 2D displaydevice such as a CRT.

2. Description of the Related Art

Due to the absence of information in the depth direction, no currentlyavailable combination of a 2D input device and a 2D display device canprovide direct graphic input of a 3D wireframe graphics to an apparatus.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17A, in the case of inputting a linesegment GH as a 3D line segment with an endpoint G selected as theorigin and displaying it on a 2D plane (in this case, the paper surfaceof the figure), the line segment GH can be specified as a 3D linesegment having 3D data if the position of the other endpoint H isdetermined as 3D data. However, since the position of the endpoint Hcannot be determined three-dimensionally due to the absence ofinformation in the depth direction, the line segment GH cannot bespecified three-dimensionally; that is, it may be the line segment shownin FIG. 17B or FIG. 17C, or one in another position. That is, a 3Dgraphics constructing apparatus cannot specify the 2D line segment GH asa 3D line segment by data processing.

When a designer sketches a 3D object on, for example, a paper surfaceusing a writing instrument, he recognizes, using his own senses, the 3Dposition of a line segment like the above line segment GH (i.e.,endpoint H) even if it has not been determined, and, as the sketchprogresses, he establishes the position of a line segment that has notyet been specified three-dimensionally based on its relationship tolater-drawn line segments. In this manner, he can draw a 3D object imageconsisting of line segments whose positions are three-dimensionallydetermined as a whole.

However, conventional data processing using a computer can produce a 3Dwireframe graphics and display it on a 2D display screen only in thecase where coordinate data for each of the line segments (i.e., itsendpoints) that constitute the graphics are three-dimensionallyspecified. Therefore, a 3D graphics is input in a way such that the 3Dcoordinates of its vertices are directly input from a keyboard in theform of numerical values, or in a way such that using a three-planediagram three views of the graphics are separately input in a graphicmanner and thereafter corresponding points among the views are indicatedby an operator.

In the former method, however, mistakes in order of magnitude are likelyto occur. The latter method has the problem that error is likely tooccur in indicating the corresponding points, and it is also cumbersometo draw a plurality of views of the same object as viewed from differentdirections.

There is known a method in which a 3D line segment to be drawn is inputto an apparatus by inputting its coordinates along reference 3Dcoordinate axes (Agui et al., "Solid Object Input System by ConformalProjection Method," Transactions of Information Processing Society ofJapan, January 1987, Vol. 28, No. 1). However, in this method, 3Dcoordinates are simply input in a graphic manner, and the line segmentstill cannot be drawn (i.e., displayed) without provision of all the 3Dcoordinates.

Another method is known in which the inputting is performed such that aplane is specified in a 3D space and made to have a one-to-onecorrespondence with coordinates of a 2D plane for the inputting (E.Sittas, "3D Design Reference Framework", Computer-Aided Design, 1991,pp. 380-384). However, this method is associated with the problem of acumbersome input operation because a plane must be defined before eachinput of a line segment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and methodin which when a 3D graphics is input to a graphic device, it can beinput and displayed in a way that the designer feels that it is easy todraw it, that is, feels as if he were sketching it on a paper surface.

More specifically, it is intended to display, in a mixed state, linesegments having only 2D data together with line segments which also have3D data on a display screen with a 2D coordinate system, and to enablethe designer to proceed to input respective line segments to construct a3D graphics while looking at the line segments being displayed, tothereby realize the figure drawing which suits the designer's sense.

Further, it is intended to enable, at any time, the rotation andenlargement or reduction of a graphics being drawn, to obtain theorientation suitable for ease in drawing, and to enable a designer toperform the input operation while properly recognizing the solidgraphics that is being constructed.

In inputting a 3D object, it is desired to provide an interface that isas natural as sketching. According to the technique of the invention, inwhich the parallel projection method is employed, 3D line segments andcurves can be input while they are recognized one by one visually andinteractively using three orthogonal axes in space as clues. When itbecomes difficult to continue the drawing of the object because of theexistence of line segments being drawn too densely, the object can berotated as desired to provide an orientation suitable for the drawing.

In order to attain the above objects, an apparatus of the presentinvention for performing conversion to 3D data comprises: a means forstoring 2D line segment data; a means for storing a line segment of 3Ddata; a means for converting 3D line segment data to 2D data byprojecting the 3D line segment data onto a 2D projection plane; and ameans for converting said stored 2D line segment data to 3D data basedon its relationship to a line segment that has 3D data and has beenconverted to 2D data.

More specifically, the apparatus of the invention further comprises: adisplay means having a display screen with a 2D coordinate system; aninput means used for inputting 2D line segment data; a means fordisplaying a line segment of 2D data on said display screen; and a meansfor displaying on said display screen a line segment that has beenconverted to 2D data by projection conversion.

A method according to the invention for converting a line segment of 2Ddata to 3D data comprises the steps of: converting 3D line segment datato 2D data by projecting the 3D line segment data onto a 2D projectionplane; and converting new 2D line segment data to 3D data based on itsrelationship to a line segment that has 3D data and has been convertedto 2D data.

More specifically, the method of the invention further comprises thesteps of: storing 2D line segment data; displaying a line segment of 2Ddata on a display screen with a 2D coordinate system; displaying on saiddisplay screen a line segment that has been converted to 2D data byprojection conversion; and storing line segment data that has beenconverted to 3D data.

In order to attain the above objects, a display device of the inventioncomprises: a display means having a display screen with a 2D coordinatesystem; a projection conversion means for converting 3D line segmentdata to 2D data by projecting the 3D line segment data onto a 2Dprojection plane; a means for displaying on said display screen a linesegment that has been converted to 2D data by the projection conversionmeans; and a means for displaying on said display screen a line segmentthat has been input as 2D data.

A display method of the invention comprises the steps of: converting 3Dline segment data to 2D data by projecting the 3D line segment data ontoa 2D projection plane; displaying on a display screen with a 2Dcoordinate system a line segment that has been converted to 2D data byprojection conversion; and displaying the new line segment of 2D data onsaid display screen.

According to the invention as summarized above, a designer can draw a 3Dgraphics while inputting 2D line segment data and while recognizing themas 3D line segments visually and interactively.

When the position in three dimensions of an input line segment of 2Ddata is not determined and therefore it cannot be converted to 3D data,the input line segment is left as it is and is afterwards automaticallyconverted to 3D data upon determination of its position in threedimensions based on its relationship to a newly added line segment. Thatis, the system according to the invention edits a wireframe 3D graphicswhile displaying, in a mixed state, line segments of 2D data, until theyare converted to 3D data, together with other line segments which have3D data.

If a means or a step that is capable of arbitrarily setting the 2Dprojection plane to be used for projection-converting 3D line segmentdata to 2D data is further provided in the invention as summarizedabove, line segments that have been specified three-dimensionally can bedisplayed on the 2D display screen with an arbitrary orientation andsize.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of an appearance of an apparatus for performingconversion to 3D data;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of theapparatus for performing conversion to 3D data;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for performing conversion to 3D data;

FIG. 4 is an another flowchart of the process for performing conversionto 3D data;

FIGS. 5A-5C are schematic diagrams illustrating relationships betweenline segments;

FIGS. 6-16 are schematic diagrams showing display screens; and

FIGS. 17A-17C are schematic diagrams illustrating states in which 3Dline segments are displayed two-dimensionally.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus according to an embodiment forperforming conversion to 3D data is constituted of a mouse 1 as a 2Dinput means, a CRT display 2 as a display means, a personal computer 3for performing various data processing operations, and a keyboard 4 asan auxiliary input means.

FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of the above conversionapparatus, which mainly consists of the following components: a strokedata memory 5 which stores stroke data (i.e., the 2D data of a linesegment) that is input through the mouse 1; a processing unit 6 which isdescribed later; a 3D data storage device 7 which stores 3D line segmentdata that is determined by the processing unit 6; a projection datamemory 9 which stores 2D coordinates that are obtained by a projectionconversion circuit 11 which performs parallel projection of the above 3Ddata; a 2D data storage device 10 which temporarily stores 2D data(stroke data) that has not yet been converted to 3D data; a displaydevice 2 which displays respective line segments on its display screen2a with a 2D coordinate system based on data provided from theprojection data memory 9 and the 2D data storage device 10.

The processing unit 6 consists of a projection conversion circuit 11 forconverting the 3D data of a line segment stored in the 3D data storagedevice 7 to 2D data by parallel projection, a 2D data processing device12 for examining the relationship between the 2D data of a line segmentafter it is subjected to the projection conversion and the stroke dataof a newly input line segment, and a reverse projection conversioncircuit 13 for converting the 2D data of a line segment to 3D data.

A visual field input device 8 inputs various parameters for defining the2D projection plane for the projection conversion circuit 11. Based onthese parameters, the 2D projection plane, which is used as a referencewhen the projection conversion circuit 11 converts 3D data to 2D data byparallel projection, is set arbitrarily. In this embodiment, the visualfield input device 8 is constituted of the mouse 1.

The projection data memory 9 consists of a memory 14 for storing thedirections of 3D coordinate axes as converted to 2D data by theprojection conversion circuit 11, and a memory 15 for storing theprojection coordinates of a 3D line segment as converted to 2D data bythe projection conversion circuit 11. That is, the projection datamemory 9 stores 2D coordinates that are obtained by parallel-projecting3D coordinates onto the 2D projection plane that is set by the visualfield input device 8.

Line segments that are read out from the projection data memory 9 anddisplayed on the display screen 2a of the display device 2 form an imageas viewed in the visual field of the 2D projection plane that is set bythe visual field input device 8. On the other hand, line segments thatare read out from the 2D data temporary storage device 10 and displayedon the display screen 2a of the display device 2 are based only on the2D data that is input through the input device 1 by an operator whorecognizes the display screen 2a as a reference 2D plane. That is tosay, the latter line segments form an image as drawn on the 2D displayscreen 2a.

Referring to FIG. 3, the operation of processing input data (i.e.,stroke data of a line segment) is described, which operation is mainlyperformed by the 2D data processing device 12.

After performing various initial settings (step 20), 3D orthogonalcoordinate axes as parallel-projected onto the 2D projection plane thathas been set by the visual field input device 8 appear in an initialinput screen of the display device 2 (step 22). For example, as shown inFIG. 6, fundamental cubes, which are drawn on the basis of theparallel-projected 3D orthogonal coordinate axes, are displayed tofacilitate the recognition of spatial position.

When an arbitrary line segment is input as stroke data in the initialinput screen using an input device 1 such as a mouse (step 24), it isjudged whether this newly input line segment is convertible to 3D data(step 26).

The 2D data processing device 12 judges whether the newly input linesegment is convertible to 3D data (step 26) using, as a clue, a linesegment that has been obtained by converting, to 2D data, the linesegment data being stored in the 3D data storage device 7 as 3D data(step 36). That is, it is judged whether information in the depthdirection can be obtained with respect to the newly input line segmenthaving only 2D data (i.e., having no information in the depth direction,which is necessary to determine its position in terms of 3D coordinates)based on another line segment that has already been specified as 3Ddata, as described later with reference to FIG. 4.

A line segment which has been judged to be convertible to 3D data isconverted by the reverse projection conversion circuit 13 to 3D data(step 32), which is then stored into the 3D data storage device 7 (step34).

On the other hand, a line segment which has been judged to beinconvertible to 3D data (step 38) is temporarily stored in the 2D datatemporary storage device 10 until it becomes convertible to 3D databased on a later input line segment which gives information in the depthdirection to the temporarily stored line segment (step 40).

As described above, among the line segments that are input through theinput device 1, line segments convertible to 3D data are stored afterconversion to 3D data, and line segments inconvertible to 3D data arestored as the original 2D data. All the data thus stored in the datastorage device 10 as original 2D data are subjected to judgment as totheir convertibility to 3D data every time a new line segment is input(step 28).

With the series of operations for performing conversion to 3D data asdescribed above, as shown in FIG. 2, the line segments that are storedin the projection data memory 9 after being read out from the 3D datastorage device 7 and converted to 2D data by the projection conversioncircuit 11, and the line segments that are stored in the 2D datatemporary storage device 10 and still associated only with 2D data, areinput to the display device 2 and displayed on the display screen 2awith a 2D coordinate system such that the two kinds of line segments aremixed with each other.

In displaying these line segments, if the line segments having onlytemporary 2D data and those having 3D data are displayed using differentcolors, the operator can easily recognize the state of the 3D graphicsbeing constructed, which will facilitate his input operation.

The judgment on the convertibility to 3D data (step 26) is describedbelow in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and theschematic diagram of FIG. 5.

The judgment of whether a line segment AB that was input as stroke dataand still has only 2D data is convertible to 3D data by addinginformation in the depth direction based on its relationship to linesegments CD and EF that have been input before or after the line AB andthat have been specified three-dimensionally and projection-converted to2D data for their display on the display device 2 is performed in thefollowing manner. First, the 2D coordinates of the endpoints A and B ofthe line segment AB (step 50) and, at the same time, the 2D coordinatesof the endpoints C, D, E and F of the line segments CD and EF arecalculated (step 52).

Then, each of the distances between the endpoints A and B and theendpoints C, D, E and F are calculated (step and based on the distancesthus calculated the relationship between the line segments is judged.That is, if the distance is equal to zero or within a threshold valuethat can be regarded as zero based on a precision that can be setarbitrarily, the endpoints can be judged to be identical points. If thedistance is larger than the threshold value, the endpoints are judged tobe not identical.

As shown in FIG. 5A, if the distance between the endpoint A of the linesegment AB and the endpoint C of the line segment CD is within thethreshold value, which means the endpoints A and C are identical, and ifthe endpoint B and the endpoint F of the line segment EF are within thethreshold value, which means the endpoints B and F are identical (step56), information in the depth direction can be added to each of theendpoints A and B based on the data of the endpoints C and F that havebeen specified in three dimensions. Therefore the line segment AB isconvertible to 3D data by the reverse projection conversion circuit 13(step 80).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, if only one endpoint of the linesegment AB is identical to one endpoint of the line segments CD or EF(the endpoint A coincides with the endpoint C in FIG. 5B; step 58), thedistance d1 between the other endpoint B of the line segment AB and theother line segment EF is calculated (step 62). Then, it is judgedwhether the distance d1 is within the above-mentioned threshold value.If the judgment is affirmative, the endpoint B is judged to be locatedon the line segment EF (step 64). Therefore, information in the depthdirection can be added to the endpoint B based on the data for the linesegment EF, which has been specified three-dimensionally, to determineits position in three dimensions. It is concluded that the line segmentAB, whose endpoints A and B can be specified three-dimensionally, isconvertible to 3D data (step 80).

In contrast to the above case, if the distance d1 is larger than thethreshold value, it is judged that the endpoint B is not located on theline segment EF (step 66). In this case, it is further judged whetherthe line segment AB is parallel to one of the 3D coordinate axes thatare stored in the coordinate axes data memory 14 after being convertedto 2D data (step 68). An arbitrary line segment that is parallel to oneof the 3D coordinate axes can be specified three-dimensionally if theposition in three dimensions of one of its endpoints is determined.Therefore, if the line segment AB is parallel to one of the 3Dcoordinate axes, it is judged that the 2D data of the line segment AB isconvertible to 3D data (step 80). If the line segment is not parallel toone of the 3D coordinate axes, the 2D data of the line segment AB isjudged to be inconvertible to 3D data (step 82), and is therefore storedin the 2D data temporary storage device 10 without conversion.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5C, if neither of the endpoints of theline segment AB are identical to the endpoints of the line segments CDand EF (step 60), the distance d2 between the endpoint A of the linesegment AB and the line segment CD and the distance d3 between theendpoint B and the line segment EF are calculated (step 70). Then, it isjudged whether each of the distances d2 and d3 is within the thresholdvalue. If both distances are within the threshold value, it is judgedthat the endpoints A and B are located on the line segments CD and EF,respectively (step 72). It is concluded that the line segment AB isconvertible to 3D data (step 80).

On the other hand, if only one of the distances d2 and d3 is within thethreshold value, one of the endpoints A and B is judged to be located onthe line segment CD or EF (step 74). In the same manner as in the abovecase in which only one of the endpoints A and B is specified in threedimensions, it is judged whether the line segment AB is parallel to oneof the 3D coordinate axes (step 78). If the judgment is affirmative, theline segment AB is judged to be convertible to 3D data (step 80). If thejudgment is negative, the line segment is judged to be inconvertible to3D data (step 82), and is therefore stored in the 2D data temporarystorage device 10 without conversion. Furthermore, if neither of thedistances d2 and d3 are within the threshold value, it is judged thatneither of the endpoints A and B are located on the line segments CD andEF, respectively (step 76). Since no information in the depth directionis added to the line segment AB from the data of the line segments CDand EE, the line segment AB is judged to be inconvertible to 3D data(step 82), and is therefore stored into the 2D data temporary storagedevice without conversion.

Now, based on an example shown in FIGS. 6-16, it is described how the 3Dgraphics of an airplane is constructed and displayed on the 2D displayscreen 2a of the display device 2. In FIGS. 6-16, line segments thathave been specified three-dimensionally are drawn by solid lines, andthose not yet specified three-dimensionally, i.e., having only 2D data,are drawn by dotted lines. As shown in FIG. 6, in the initial state, the3D coordinate axes as converted to 2D data are displayed on the 2Ddisplay screen 2a. In this example, the angles formed by the axes aredrawn as deviating from 90° to properly display the axesthree-dimensionally, and cubes having the axes as their edges aredisplayed to facilitate the recognition of the axes by an operator.Furthermore, for convenience in description, the X-, Y- and Z-axes aredefined as shown in FIG. 6.

When a line segment 101 representing the left-side edge of the noseportion of the airplane is stroke-input using the mouse 1, it isdisplayed on the 2D screen 2a as shown in FIG. 7. The first-input linesegment 101 is entirely 2D data, and its position in three dimensions isnot determined yet. In this example, the first-input line segment 101 isimplicitly defined as located in the plane of y=0 by an input from themouse 1 or keyboard 4, to make it a basis for the drawing. If the 3Dbasis for the drawing is defined in the initial stage in this manner,line segments that are stroke-input thereafter can be specifiedthree-dimensionally based on their relationship to the basis thusdefined. However, in the invention, it is not always necessary to definethe basis for the drawing in the initial stage in the above manner; linesegments that have not been converted yet to 3D data may be sequentiallyinput to sketch a 3D graphics using these 2D line segments andafterwards specified three-dimensionally by converting those to 3D databased on their relationships to line segments that later acquireinformation in the depth direction.

In this example, by determining the plane that contains the line segment101 in the above manner, the line segment 101 shown in FIG. 7 is giventwo kinds of coordinates, i.e., 3D coordinates that are producedaccording to reverse projection conversion by the reverse projectionconversion circuit 13, and 2D coordinates on the 2D screen 2a in thevisual field that are set by the visual field input device 8.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a line segment 102 representing the left-sideedge of the airplane is drawn onto the 2D projection plane parallel tothe line segment that is a projection of the Z-axis. If, on the 2Ddisplay screen 2a, the endpoint b of the line segment 102 is drawn closeenough to the endpoint a of the line segment 101 that their distance iswithin the threshold value, the two endpoints are regarded as the samepoint. Therefore, as described above, the 3D position of the linesegment 102 that is parallel to the coordinate axis and extends from thepoint a, whose position has been determined three-dimensionally, the 3Dcoordinates of the other endpoint c of the line segment 102 are alsodetermined.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, a line segment 103 representing the right-sideedge of the nose portion is input. While its one endpoint coincides withthe endpoint of the line segment 101, the line segment 103 is notparallel to any projected line segment of the coordinate axes, whichmeans that the position of the line segment 103 cannot be determinedthree-dimensionally. Therefore, the input line segment 103 is Juststored temporarily in the 2D data temporary storage device 10 in theform of the original 2D data.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a line segment 104 representing theright-side edge of the airplane is input. Since the line segment 104 isdrawn so that it is connected to the line segment 103, which has only 2Ddata, it is not given information in the depth direction. Therefore,being inconvertible to 3D data, the line segment 104 is just storedtemporarily.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11, a line segment 105 representing the rear endedge of the airplane is input. In this case, one endpoint of the newlyadded line segment 105 coincides with the endpoint c of the projectedline segment 102 having 3D data, and further, the line segment 105 isparallel to the projected line segment of the coordinate axis X.Therefore, as described above, the position of the line segment 105 isdetermined. When the line segment 105 is given 3D coordinates, the datahaving only 2D data, that are temporarily stored in the 2D datatemporary storage device 10, are reexamined as to whether they areconvertible to 3D data. Now that the 3D coordinates of the line segment105 have been determined, the 3D coordinates of the line segment 104,which is connected to the line segment 105, and further, is parallel tothe projected line segment of the Z-axis, are determined. Due to thedetermination of the 3D coordinates of the line segment 104, the linesegment 103 is rendered into a state in which its endpoints coincidewith the corresponding endpoints of the line segments 101 and 104, whichboth have 3D coordinates. Therefore, the 3D coordinates of the twoendpoints of the line segment 103 are determined, to give 3D coordinatesto the line segment 103.

In this manner, line segments that temporarily have only 2D data can begiven 3D coordinates based on the information of a line segment addedlater. Therefore, the operator need not be aware of the 3D coordinatesof line segments every time they are drawn on the display screen 2ausing the mouse 1 and, therefore, he can input and construct a 3Dgraphics as he desires, as if he were sketching it on a paper surface.

It is possible to enlarge a displayed graphics, as shown in FIG. 12, byperforming an enlarging operation on its 3D data on the reference 2Dprojection plane for parallel projection by changing the parametersprovided to the visual field input device 8. It is also possible torotate a displayed graphics, as shown in FIG. 13, by rotating thereference 2D projection plane, which is also done by changing theparameters provided to the visual field input device 8. With theseoperations, a display can be realized that can be easily recognized byan operator and can facilitate his drawing. In a similar manner, thereduction, translation, etc. of a displayed graphics can also beperformed as desired.

The fuselage portion of the airplane is drawn by the series ofoperations described above, and then the vertical tail plane and themain wings are drawn as shown in FIG. 14 by performing operationssimilar to the above. In this case, it is possible to rotate thedisplayed graphics and move the view point upward, as shown in FIG. 15,by rotating and changing the inclination of the reference 2D projectionplane by changing the parameters input from the visual field inputdevice 8, which provides an operator with shape recognition along avariety of directions. The rotation of the displayed graphics canfacilitate the drawing of reverse-side portions that are hidden in theoriginal display. For example, the right-side main wing can be drawnmore easily in the desired manner by rotating the displayed graphics, asshown in FIG. 16.

According to the apparatus for performing conversion to 3D data asdescribed above, 2D data and 3D data are displayed in a mixed manner andthe 2D data can be converted to 3D data when it is later giveninformation in the depth direction, in contrast to the case where everyline segment is input while determining its 3D coordinates. Therefore,an operator need not be conscious of the 3D coordinates; he can input a3D graphics almost as if he were sketching it on a 2D surface.

Although the above embodiment is described for the case of constructinga wireframe graphics consisting only of line segments, a wireframegraphics including line segments that curve in addition to line segmentsthat are line segments of straight lines can also be an object. A linesegment is uniquely specified by specifying its two endpoints. In thecase of a line segment that curves, in addition to two endpoints, aformula describing the shape of the line segment between the twoendpoints can be used as data for specifying the line segment, so that acurve smoothly connecting line segments adjacent to each other can beinput.

As an application of the present invention, it is possible that inaddition to adding line segments while rotating a graphics, the displayscreen 2a can be divided into a plurality of screens, i.e., multipleviews to concurrently display projection views as viewed from a varietyof view points, and arbitrary line segments can be added in aconcurrent, parallel manner using the views with which an operator candraw those line segments most easily.

Furthermore, it is possible to draw a graphics such that a 2D roughsketch etc. is saved in advance in a buffer for auxiliary lines, an ideasketch is superimposed on the displayed rough sketch, and the conversionto 3D data is performed afterwards.

Furthermore, line segments can be input to construct not only apolyhedron as the external shape of an object or the ridge lines of, forexample, a folded paper graphics, but also to construct the skeleton ofa 3D graphics. The invention can further be applied, for example, to theconstruction of a frame or a rough sketch such as an external shape inthe case of drawing a 3D object, and to a 3D arrangement support system.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for automatically convertingtwo-dimensional (2D) line segment data to three-dimensional (3D) data,comprising:means for entering into said apparatus 2D line segments eachhaving 2D line segment data; means for storing 2D line segment data;means for storing a plurality of line segments having 3D data; means forconverting 3D line segment data to 2D by projecting 3D line segment dataonto a 2D projection plane; means for testing each entered 2D linesegment for proximity to one of Said line segments with 3D data; meansfor automatically converting said entered 2D line segment data to 3Ddata by reverse projection based only on the relative position of said2D line segment data to 2D data of a line segment that has associated 3Ddata, if said entered 2D segment is proximate to one of said linesegments with 3D data, said proximity begin at any point along said linesegment; means for storming 3D data for said entered 2D line segment;means for retesting each of said line segments having stored 2D linesegment data after each entry to determine whether a proximate linesequent with 3D data has been stored.
 2. Apparatus as recited in claim1, comprising:means for arbitrarily setting a 2D projection plane thatis used for projection-converting 3D line segment data to 2D data. 3.Apparatus for automatically converting two-dimensional (2D) line segmentdata to three-dimensional (3D) data, comprising:display means having adisplay screen with a 2D coordinate system; input means for inputting 2Dline segment data; means for storing input 2D line segment data; meansfor storing 3D line segment data; means for converting 3D line segmentdata to 2D data by projecting 3D line segment data onto a 2D projectionplane; means for merging said input 2D data and said converted 2D datainto a single view wherein said input 2D data and said converted 2D dataintersect at one point; means for displaying said single view on saiddisplay screen means for testing each input 2D line segment forproximity to a line segment having 3D data; means for automaticallyconverting said 2D line segment data to 3D data based only on a relativeposition and orientation of the converted 2D data and a line segmentthat has 3D data and has been converted to 2D data, if said testindicates proximity to any point on said line segment having 3D data;and means for retesting each stored input 2D line segment after eachentry to determine whether a proximate 3D line segment has been stored.4. Apparatus as recited in claim 3, comprising:means for arbitrarilysetting a 2D projection plane used for projection-converting 3D linesegment data to 2D data.
 5. A computer program product having a computerreadable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon forautomatically converting a line segment of two-dimensional (2D) data tothree-dimensional(3D) data, said computer program productcomprising:computer program product means for causing a computer systemto receive entered 2D line segment data; computer program product meansfor causing a computer system to store 2D line segment data; computerprogram product means for causing a computer system to convert 3D linesegment data to 2D data by automatically projecting 3D line segment dataonto a 2D projection plane; computer program product means for causing acomputer system to merge stored 2D data with converted 2D data to form asingle merged view of data with said entered data connecting to saidconverted data at one point; computer program product means for causinga computer system to display said merged view on said display screen;computer program product means for causing a computer to test eachentered 2D line segment for proximity to a projected line sequent having3D data; computer program product means for causing a computer system toautomatically convert by reverse projection said 2D line segment data to3D data based only on a relative position and orientation in 2Dcoordinates of said 2D line segment data to said converted 2D data froma lines segment that has 3D data and has been converted to 2D data wheresaid test determines that said entered 2D segment is proximate to anypoint along the line having 3D data; computer program product means forcausing a computer system to store line segment data that has beenconverted to 3D data computer program product means for causing acomputer system to retest each entered 2D line segment to determineproximity after each storage of 3D line segment data.